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The Senators owner told TSN 1200 Wednesday he’s lost $110 million since rescuing the club out of bankruptcy in 2003 and while he won’t spend to the salary cap he is willing to add a player at the deadline to help Ottawa go further.

“I’ve done it. We’ve done it. We’ve spent to the cap three straight years and, you know what, what did we get done? We spent money for nothing. We didn’t get into the playoffs one year and we got one round another year,” said Melnyk.

“That’s not the way to win. You’re not going to do it. It’s a whole new ballgame. It’s all development, coaching, staying young and staying healthy. The big commodity we have is cap space. If we have an injury, and we need to fill a void and that’s going to be the difference in going an extra round or deeper then I’m prepared to do it.”

Melnyk said the club has passed the 12,000 mark in season ticket sales and will be sold out for the home opener against the Devils. He was pleased the club was able to get six of 12 points on the road despite some struggles.

“I thought (at times) it was complete chaos on the ice,” he told CBC Radio during his tour around the airwaves. “I thought with the coaching staff they righted the things that were wrong and what you saw (in Phoenix) was continued progress with this team.

“They’re just getting their act together and I think they are just going to get better and better as the season goes on.”

CHANGING LINES

Coach Paul MacLean isn’t afraid to make changes. He decided he’d waited long enough to give Bobby Ryan, Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza a chance to get chemistry in camp and through the first five games. So with the picture not pretty in Anaheim Sunday night and the club trailing 2-0, MacLean and his staff decided to move Ryan to play on a line with Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur while moving Conacher to play with Spezza. “We tried to have a ton of patience through training camp and through the start of the season to see if there could be some chemistry developed. Maybe there will be if we put them back together,” said MacLean. “We thought (Monday) that we played Bobby a bit with Kyle and MacArthur in the (Anaheim) game and there seemed to be a little bit of something there. Also Conacher there was a little bit of something there when he was with Spezza and Michalek. We thought we just try it here. It went pretty good. We’ll see where it goes from here.”

OFF THE GLASS

Don’t be surprised if the Senators do reach down to their Binghamton AHL affiliate in the next few days. C Stephane Da Costa was a healthy scratch again in Phoenix and C Jean-Gabriel Pageau is struggling. Da Costa would require waivers but he would clear. The Senators options are: C Mika Zibanejad, C Derek Grant and C Jim O’Brien. GM Bryan Murray will look at the club’s options. Despite the win, this team isn’t out of the woods and needs to work on faceoffs. Murray said Monday before he made any moves he’d have to discuss them with Binghamton coach Luke Richardson ... The NHL did look at Ryan’s hit on Rostislav Klesla in the third, but didn’t request a hearing to review it. Replays made it look like Ryan may have gotten his elbow up on Klesla and he did leave the game briefly.

THIS N’ THAT

G Martin Brodeur will make the start for the Devils against the Senators. He has a 36-23-7 record lifetime vs. Ottawa. That’s the most by any goalie against the Senators and the prolific Brodeur has six shutouts in that stretch. Given the fact ... Conacher said he was fine after getting high-sticked by Phoenix F Martin Hanzal in the nose. Conacher was bleeding when he went to the room, but there was no facial damage. There was no call by the officials.

THE LAST WORD

The Senators played well against the Devils last season by sweeping the season series with three straight victories. With a victory against New Jersey, Ottawa would match its longest winning streak against the Devils in club history. The last time Senators won four straight vs. New Jersey was from April 3, 1998 to Jan. 14, 1999 ... The Senators finished with a 15-6-3 record last season at home. “We’re excited to get home and have our home opener,” said Spezza. “This is six games we haven’t played at home so we’re excited to get in front of our fans, see our families and play some games in our arena. Home ice advantage is big in this league so to get there will be nice.”

Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk willing to spend if the deal is right for the club

The Senators owner told TSN 1200 Wednesday he’s lost $110 million since rescuing the club out of bankruptcy in 2003 and while he won’t spend to the salary cap he is willing to add a player at the deadline to help Ottawa go further.

“I’ve done it. We’ve done it. We’ve spent to the cap three straight years and, you know what, what did we get done? We spent money for nothing. We didn’t get into the playoffs one year and we got one round another year,” said Melnyk.

“That’s not the way to win. You’re not going to do it. It’s a whole new ballgame. It’s all development, coaching, staying young and staying healthy. The big commodity we have is cap space. If we have an injury, and we need to fill a void and that’s going to be the difference in going an extra round or deeper then I’m prepared to do it.”